The present invention relates to nuclear imaging and more particularly, to systems, methods, and probes for radioactive-emission-measurement optimization to specific body structures, possibly together with structural imaging, for example, by x-rays, ultrasound, or MRI.
Radioactive-emission imaging relies on the fact that in general, pathologies, such as malignant tumors, malfunctioning organs, and inflammations, display a level of activity different from that of healthy tissue. Thus, radiopharmaceutical, which circulate in the blood stream, are picked up by the active pathologies to a different extent than by the surrounding healthy tissue; in consequence, the pathologies are operative as radioactive-emission sources and may be detected by radioactive-emission imaging.
The pathological feature may appear as a concentrated source of high radiation, or a hot region, as may be associated with a tumor, or as a region of low-level to radiation, which is nonetheless above the background level, as may be associated with carcinoma. Additionally, a reversed situation is possible. Dead tissue has practically no pick up of radiopharmaceuticals, and is thus operative as a region of little radiation, or a cold region, below the background level.
Thus radiopharmaceuticals may be used for identifying active pathologies as well as dead tissue, and the image that is constructed is generally termed, a functional image.
The mechanism of localization of a radiopharmaceutical in a particular organ of interest depends on various processes in the organ of interest, such as antigen-antibody reactions, physical trapping of particles, receptor site binding, removal of intentionally damaged cells from circulation, and transport of a chemical species across a cell membrane and into the cell by a normally operative metabolic process. A summary of the mechanisms of localization by radiopharmaceuticals is described in http://www.lunis.luc.edu/nucmed/tutorial/radpharm/i.htm. For example:
1. Active transport involves the use of a normally operative metabolic pathway in the body, for moving a radiopharmaceutical across a cell membrane and into the cell. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for active transport is I131 in the form of NaI, for thyroid imaging.
2. Phagocytosis involves physical entrapment of colloidal particles by Kupffer cells in the RE System. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for phagocytosis is Tc99m in the form of sulfur colloid, for liver and spleen imaging.
3. Capillary blockage involves intentional microembolization of a capillary bed with particles. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for capillary blockage is Tc99m in the form of MAA, for pulmonary perfusion imaging.
4. Cell sequestration involves injection of damaged RBC's to produce a spleen scan with no visualization of the liver. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for cell sequestration is heat damaged autologous Tc99m RBC's.
5. Simple or exchange diffusion involves a mechanism whereby a radiotracer diffuses across cell membranes and then binds or attaches itself to a cell component. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for simple or exchange diffusion is F18, in the form of NaF, for bone imaging.
6. Compartmental Localization involves placement of a radiotracer in a fluid space and imaging of that fluid space. Examples of radiopharmaceuticals that may be used for compartmental localization are Tc99m HAS, for MUGA's, In111 DTPA, for cistemograms, and Xe133 gas for pulmonary perfusion.
7. Chemisorption involves surface binding of radiopharmaceutical to a solid structure. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for chemisorption is In111 platelets bound to a surface of an active thrombus.
8. Antigen or antibody reaction involves uptake at tumor site due to specific binding of radiolabeled antibody to surface antigens on tumors. Examples of radiopharmaceuticals that may be used for antigen or antibody reaction are In111 Oncoscint, for the localization of recurrent ovarian or colorectal carcinoma, or In111 ProstaScint for the localization or recurrent cancer.
9. Receptor binding involves the binding of a radiopharmaceutical to high-affinity receptor sites. An example of a radiopharmaceutical that may be used for receptor binding is In111 octreotide, for localization of neuroendocrine and other tumors based on binding of a somatostatin analog to receptor sites in tumors.
Examples of other radiopharmaceuticals include the following:
1. anti-CEA, a monoclonal antibody fragment, which targets CEA—produced and shed by colorectal carcinoma cells—and may be labeled by Tc99m or by other radioisotopes, for example, iodine isotopes (Jessup J M, 1998, Tumor markers—prognostic and therapeutic implications for colorectal carcinoma, Surgical Oncology; 7: 139-151);
2. In111-Satumomab Pendetide (Oncoscint®), designed to target TAG-72, a mucin-like glycoprotein, expressed in human colorectal, gastric, ovarian, breast and lung cancers, but rarely in healthy human adult tissues (Molinolo A; Simpson J F; et al., 1990, Enhanced tumor binding using immunohistochemical analyses by second generation anti-tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 monoclonal antibodies versus monoclonal antibody B72.3 in human tissue, Cancer Res., 50(4): 1291-8);
3. Lipid-Associated Sialic Acid (LASA), a tumor antigen, used for colorectal carcinoma, with a similar sensitivity as anti-CEA monoclonal antibody fragment but a greater specificity for differentiating between benign and malignant lesions (Ebril K M, Jones J D, Klee G G, 1985, Use and limitations of serum total and lipid-bound sialic acid concentrations as markers for colorectal cancer, Cancer; 55:404-409);
4. Matrix Metaloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), a proteins enzyme, believed to be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis (Mori M, Barnard G F et al., 1995, Overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-7 mRNA in human colon carcinoma, Cancer; 75: 1516-1519);
5. Ga67 citrate, used for detection of chronic inflammation (Mettler F A, and Guiberteau M J, Eds., 1998, Inflammation and infection imaging, Essentials of nuclear medicine, Fourth edition, Pgs: 387-403);
6. Nonspecific-polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG), which may be labeled with both In111 or Tc99m, and which has a potential to localize nonbacterial infections (Mettler F A, and Guiberteau M J, ibid);
7. Radio-labeled leukocytes, such as such as In111 oxine leukocytes and Tc99m HMPAO leukocytes, which are attracted to sites of inflammation, where they are activated by local chemotactic factors and pass through the endothelium into the soft tissue (Mettler F A, and Guiberteau M J, ibid; Corstens F H; van der Meer J W, 1999, Nuclear medicine's role in infection and inflammation, Lancet; 354 (9180): 765-70); and
8. Tc99m bound to Sodium Pertechnetate, which is picked up by red blood cells, and may be used for identifying blood vessels and vital organs, such as the liver and the kidneys, in order to guide a surgical instrument without their penetration.
The particular choice of a radionuclide for labeling antibodies depends upon the chemistry of the labeling procedure and the isotope nuclear properties, such as, the number of gamma rays emitted, their respective energies, the emission of other particles, such as beta or positrons, the isotope half-life, and the existence of different isotopes of identical chemistry but different half-lives (e.g., I131 and I133). The usual preferred emission for medical applications is that of gamma rays, with an energy range of approximately 11-511 KeV. However, beta and positron radiation may also be detected.
The detector may be a room temperature, solid-state CdZnTe (CZT) detector, configured as a single-pixel or a multi-pixel detector, obtained, for example, from eV Products, a division of II-VI Corporation, Saxonburg Pa., 16056, or from IMARAD IMAGING SYSTEMS LTD., of Rehovot, ISRAEL, 76124, www.imarad.com, or from another source. Alternatively, another solid-state detector such as CdTe, HgI, Si, Ge, or the like, or a scintillation detector (such as NaI(Tl), LSO, GSO, CsI, CaF, or the like, or a combination of a scintillation detector and a photomultiplier, to form an Anger camera, or another detector as known, may be used.
FIGS. 1A and 1B schematically illustrate a detecting unit 12 and a block 90 of detecting units 12, respectively, as known.
As seen in FIG. 1A, the detecting unit 12 is formed of a single-pixel detector 91, having a diameter D and a thickness τd. Both the detector diameter D, or a diameter equivalent, in the case of a non-circular detector, and the detector thickness τd affect the detecting efficiency. The detector diameter D determines the surface area on which radioactive emission impinges; the greater the surface area, the greater the efficiency. The detector thickness τd affects the stopping power of the detector. High energy gamma rays may go through a thin detector; the probability of their detection increases with the detector thickness τd.
FIG. 1A illustrates a single-pixel detector 91, which by itself cannot generate an image; rather, all counts are distributed over the surface area of the detector 91.
As seen in FIG. 1B, the block 90 includes a plurality of the detecting unit 12, formed by dividing the detector 91 into a plurality of electrically insulated pixels 106, each associated with a collimator 96. The collimators 96 are of the diameter or diameter equivalent D, a length L, and a septa thickness τ. The collimators 96 may be, for example, of lead, tungsten or another material which substantially blocks gamma and beta rays. The collimators 96 may be shaped as tubes, rectangular grids, or grids of another polygon. Wide-angle or narrow-angle collimators are also possible.
The collimator's geometry, and specifically, the ratio of D/L, provides the detecting unit 12 with a collection solid angle δ analogous to a viewing solid angle of an optical camera. The collection solid angle δ limits the radioactive-emission detection to substantially only that radioactive emission, which impinges on the detector 91 after passing through a “corridor” of the collimator 96 (although in practice, some high-energy gamma rays may penetrate the collimator's walls). With no collimator, the collection angle δ, is essentially a solid angle of 4π steradians.
Thus, the collimator's geometry affects both the detection efficiency and the image resolution, which are defined as follows:    i. The detection efficiency is the ratio of measured radiation to emitted radiation; and    ii. The image resolution is the capability of making distinguishable closely adjacent manifestations of a pathology, or the capability to accurately determine the size and shape of individual manifestations of a pathology.
Naturally, it is desired to optimize both the detection efficiency and the image resolution. Yet, they are inversely related to each other. The detection efficiency increases with increasing collimator's collection angle, and the image resolution decreases with increasing collimator's collection angle.
In other words, while a wide-aperture, single-pixel detecting unit, such as that of FIG. 1A provides high efficiency, it does not lend itself to the generation of a two-dimensional image, and the wide aperture blurs the information regarding the direction from which the radiation comes. Yet as the resolution is increased, for example, to the detecting unit 12 of FIG. 1B, the detection efficiency is decreased.
Commonly owned US Applications 20040015075 and 20040054248 and commonly owned PCT publication WO2004/042546, all of whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference, describe systems and methods for scanning a radioactive-emission source with a radioactive-emission-measuring probe of a wide-aperture collimator, and at the same time, monitoring the position of the radioactive-emission-measuring probe, at very fine time intervals, to obtain the equivalence of fine-aperture collimation. In consequence, high-efficiency, high-resolution images of a radioactivity emitting source are obtained.
A system according to US Applications 20040015075 and 20040054248 and PCT publication WO2004/042546 is seen in FIGS. 2-3B.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the basic component of a system 120, comprising a radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 and a position-tracking device 124, both in communication with a data processing unit 126. The radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 is associated with a first coordinate system 128, and the position-tracking device 124 is associated with a second coordinate system 128′, wherein the position-tracking device 124 monitors the position of the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 as a function of time. The data processing unit 126 processes the measurements of both the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 and the position-tracking device 124 and combines them, to form the image.
FIG. 3A schematically illustrates the manner of operating the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 with the position-tracking device 124 of the system 120. The radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 moves about an area of radioactive emission 110, for example, in the direction of an arrow 118, so as to measure a radioactive emission distribution 112, as a function of time, while the position-tracking device 124 monitors the position of probe 122. The radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 may be a single-pixel detector of high efficiency, which is incapable, by itself, of producing images. Nonetheless, a data processing unit 126, processes a radioactive-count-rate input 121 together with a position-tracking input 123, using algorithms 125, to reconstruct an image 110′ of the area of radioactive emission 110, for example, on a display unit 129.
Images according to this concept are illustrated in FIGS. 3B-3B. The area of radioactive emission 110 is located in a two-dimensional coordinates u;v, and includes two hot points 115 (FIG. 3B). The system 120 moves from a position P(1) at a time t(1), to a position P(2) at a time t(2), while measuring the radioactive emission distribution 112 of the area of radioactive emission 110, including the hot points 115.
An example of a suitable position-tracking device 124 is miniBird™, which is a magnetic tracking and location system commercially available from Ascension Technology Corporation, P.O. Box 527, Burlington, Vt. 05402 USA (http://www.ascension-tech.com/graphic.htm). The miniBird™ measures the real-time position and orientation (in six degrees of freedom) of one or more miniaturized sensors, so as to accurately track the spatial location of probes, instruments, and other devices. The dimensions of miniBird™ 124 are 18 mm×8 mm×8 mm for the Model 800 and 10 mm×5 mm×5 mm the Model 500. Alternatively, an optical tracking device, of Northern Digital Inc., Ontario, Canada NDI-POLARIS, which provides passive or active systems, a magnetic tracking device of NDI-AURORA, an infrared tracking device of E-PEN system, http://www.e-pen.com, or an ultrasonic tracking device of E-PEN system may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the position-tracking device may be an articulated-arm position-tracking device, an accelerometer-based position-tracking device, a potentiometer-based position-tracking device, or a radio-frequency-based position-tracking device.
Commonly owned US application 20040054248 and commonly owned PCT to publication WO2004/042546 further disclose various extracorporeal and intracorporeal systems 120, of radioactive-emission-measuring probes 122, of relatively wide apertures, associated with position-tracking devices 124. Examples of extracorporeal and intracorporeal radioactive-emission-measuring probes of this type, operative with position-tracking devices, are seen in FIGS. 4A-4C.
FIG. 4A schematically illustrates a hand-held, extracorporeal probe 170, formed as the system 120, and having the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 of a detector 132, a collimator 134 and a controller 130, and further including the position-tracking device 124, wherein the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122 and the position-tracking device 124 are associated with the data processing unit 126, as taught in conjunction with FIGS. 2-3B.
FIG. 4B schematically illustrates an intracorporeal probe 180, formed as the system 120, mounted on a catheter 136, and having the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122, of the detector 132 and the collimator 134, and the position-tracking device 124, wherein the probe 122 and the position tracking device 124 are associated with the data processing unit 126, as taught in conjunction with FIGS. 2-3B. The intracorporeal probe 180 is configured to penetrate a tissue 135, via a trucar valve 138. A structural imager, such as an ultrasound imager 137 or an MRI probe 137 may further be included.
FIG. 4C schematically illustrates an intracorporeal probe 190, formed as the system 120, adapted for rectal insertion and having the radioactive-emission-measuring probe 122, formed as a plurality of detectors 132 and collimators 134, and associated with the position-tracking device 124. The intracorporeal probe 190 may be further adapted for motion along the x and ω directions. For example, the intracorporeal probe 190 may include a motor 154 for self-motion in the x and ω directions, so as to crawl into the rectum. The motor 154 may be obtained, for example, from B-K Medical A/S, of Gentofte, DK, and may be adapted to report to the data processing unit 126 the exact position and orientation of the intracorporeal probe 190, based on the number of rotations. In some embodiments, the motor 154 is used in place of the position-tracking device 124. Alternatively, it is used in addition to it. The intracorporeal probe 190 may further include the structural imager 137, such as an ultrasound imager or an MRI probe.
The acquisition of both a functional image of the body, such as a radioactive-emission image, and a structural image, such as an ultrasound, an x-ray, or an MRI image, and their co-registration on a single frame of reference, is disclosed by commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,201 to Front, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, as well as by M. W. Vannier and D. E. Gayou, “Automated registration of multimodality images”, Radiology, vol. 169 pp. 860-861 (1988); J. A. Correia, “Registration of nuclear medicine images, J. Nucl. Med., vol. 31 pp. 1227-1229 (1990); J-C Liehn, A. Loboguerrero, C. Perault and L. Demange, “superposition of computed tomography and single photon emission tomography immunoscinigraphic images in the pelvis: validation in patients with colorectal or ovarian carcinoma recurrence”, Eur. J. Nucl. Med., vol. 19 pp. 186-194 (1992); F. Thomas et al., “Description of a prototype emission transmission computed tomography imaging system”, J. Nucl. Med., vol. 33 pp. 1881-1887 (1992); D. A. Weber and M. Ivanovic, “Correlative image registration”, Sem. Nucl. Med., vol. 24 pp. 311-323 (1994); and Hasegawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,795.
In essence, several images may be acquired and co-registered to the same frame of reference, as follows:    i. a first functional image scan, based for example, on anti-CEA monoclonal antibody fragment, labeled by iodine isotopes, may be acquired for targeting CEA—produced and shed by colorectal carcinoma cells for detecting a pathological feature, such as colorectal carcinoma;    ii. a second functional image, based for example, on nonspecific-polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG), which may be labeled with Tc99m, may be acquired for locating blood vessels and vital structures, such as the heart, or the stomach, co-registered with the first functional image and the pathological feature detected on it, in order to locate the pathological feature in reference to blood vessels and vital organs; and    iii. a structural image, such as an ultrasound image, may be used for general structural anatomy, co-registered with the first and second functional images, in order to locate the pathological feature in reference to bones and the general anatomic structure.
In this manner, a physician may locate the pathological feature in reference to the blood vessels, vital organs, and the bones.
Additionally, correlation may be used to guide a minimally invasive surgical instrument to the pathological feature, while avoiding the blood vessels, vital organs, and bones. The minimally invasive surgical instrument may be a biopsy needle, a wire, for hot resection, a knife for cold resection, an instrument of focused energy, to produce ablation, for example, by ultrasound, or by laser, an instrument for cryosurgery, an instrument for croyetherapy, or an instrument for bractherapy, wherein seeds of a radioactive metal are planted close to a tumor, for operating as a radioactive source near the tumor.
Commonly owned PCT publication WO2004/042546 further discloses that the surgical instrument may be visible on at least one of the images, for example, on the structural image, to enable the physician to see the instrument, the pathological feature, and the surrounding anatomy on the display 129 (FIG. 3A). Additionally, the surgical instrument may be radioactively labeled, to be visible also on the functional image.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,201 discloses a method of stereotactic therapy, wherein a frame, which includes at least three markers, visible on a structural image, is rigidly secured to a patient. The structural image of a region inside the patient's body, which includes a pathological feature and the markers, is acquired. A functional image of the pathological feature is then acquired and co-registered with the structural image, to correlate the images to the same frame of reference. A stereotactic guide is rigidly attached to the frame and is used to guide a surgical instrument, such as a biopsy needle or a brachytherapy needle, to the pathological feature, with reference to the co-registered images.
Commonly owned PCT publication WO2004/042546 further disclosures the use of a structural image, such as of ultrasound or MRI, for information about tissue attenuation. The information may then be used to correct the radioactive-emission measurements.
Nuclear imaging for coronary artery disease is also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,940, to Bishop, et al, relates to screening patients for an early stage of coronary artery disease. According to this method, a patient is screened based on the time-activity curve for a radioactive tracer passing through a left ventricle region of the patient's body. According to another aspect of the invention, an array of gamma particle detectors is employed to obtain data for a region of interest that is larger than and encompasses a left ventricle region of the patient's body. An analysis of the data identifies the subset of the region of interest that corresponds to the left ventricle region. According to a further aspect of the present invention, a second technique is employed to locate the left ventricle region. A still further aspect of the present invention relates to obtaining images of a patient's heart using a high temporal resolution gamma camera.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,541, to Bishop et al. relates to a cardiovascular imaging and functional analysis system and method, wherein a dedicated fast, sensitive, compact and economical imaging gamma camera system that is especially suited for heart imaging and functional analysis is employed. The cardiovascular imaging and functional analysis system of the present invention can be used as a dedicated nuclear cardiology small field of view imaging camera. The disclosed cardiovascular imaging system and method has the advantages of being able to image physiology, while offering an inexpensive and portable hardware, unlike MRI, CT, and echocardiography systems. The cardiovascular imaging system of the invention employs a basic modular design suitable for cardiac imaging with one of several radionucleide tracers. The detector can be positioned in close proximity to the chest and heart from several different projections, making it possible rapidly to accumulate data for first-pass analysis, positron imaging, quantitative stress perfusion, and multi-gated equilibrium pooled blood (MUGA) tests. In a preferred embodiment, the Cardiovascular Non-Invasive Screening Probe system can perform a novel diagnostic screening test for potential victims of coronary artery disease. The system provides a rapid, inexpensive preliminary indication of coronary occlusive disease by measuring the activity of emitted particles from an injected bolus of radioactive tracer. Ratios of this activity with the time progression of the injected bolus of radioactive tracer are used to perform diagnosis of the coronary patency (artery disease).